Hearts and Sparks
by Eosophobia-3
Summary: Set after Iron Man 2... Tony thinks about the avenger initiative, works things out with Pepper and deals with his "New element" problem... some Tony/Pepper... enjoy
1. Quiet Before the Storm

**I do not own any of the characters used in this fic, only the ideas.**

**Hello! This fic is Movie – based (I have no clue about the comics so sorry if I get something horribly wrong)… Its set after Iron Man 2 (before the whole avengers part) so there's some spoilers afoot… enjoy :) **

**Chapter 1 – Quiet Before the Storm**

Tony Stark landed (carefully) on the roof of his large home; his suit was missing the helmet and one of the hydraulics in his left boot was failing, spluttering as it struggled to allow him to move. He was exhausted and glad to be home. He'd offered Pepper a ride, or rather a flight, but she'd opted for a ride in Happy's new car. As Tony limped into his home he began to think about what had just happened. Not just the whole mega-battle with the crazy Russian dude and his army but the kiss he had shared with Pepper. He'd known how much he cared for her for a long time now and he'd had an idea that she felt the same way, but now everything was out in the open. They'd _kissed_. And it had been wonderful. But where did they go from here? He shook his head and tried to concentrate on manoeuvring his way through the wreckage that had once been his lounge; he tapped a clear panel on the wall and a few lights flickered on as JARVIS got to work:

"**Good evening Sir".**

"Hey JARVIS, prep the basement for suit removal will you? I wanna get out of this thing before it short circuits".

"**Certainly Sir. The Suit Removal Platform is fully operational and prepared to perform the required task".**

"Great".

Tony shuffled awkwardly down the stairs towards his garage/workspace, trying to keep upright as his left boot jerked and twitched sporadically. He punched in the pass code and pushed open the glass door before walking over to the platform to remove his suit, or what was left of it. Several robotic arms appeared and began to dismantle various parts of his metallic extended anatomy. One began to pull at his hair before realising that the helmet was not actually on his head. JARVIS spoke up,

"**There appears to be several components missing from the suit, Sir".**

Tony rolled his eyes and winced as one of the robotic arms attempted to yank off the broken boot, "Yeah, I er, lost a couple of pieces".

"**Should I begin creating a copy of the missing parts?"**

"Sure, go ahead", he staggered on one leg as he battled with the robotic arm as it tried to separate him from the broken boot. Finally it pulled free and Tony stumbled backwards into his desk. He steadied himself against the metal surface with his hand but pulled away quickly as an electric shock shot through his fingers,

"Ow!" he sucked the end of his finger which stung slightly, "Must have been the short circuit in the suit".

JARVIS flicked into life once more, **"There appears to be an increased level of an unknown element in the house, Sir. I am detecting a strong electromagnetic field in the immediate area".**

"It's probably just the damaged suit setting off some alarm bells in your system, I'll check it in the morning, night JARVIS", with that Tony made his way upstairs towards a hopefully undamaged bed. He took off his shirt and flopped down on the dusty sheets and brushed away a few loose pieces of ceiling debris; his arms and legs ached and his ribs felt bruised. He lay back and ran his fingers over the new element in his chest piece; it felt cold ad tingly, like the static on a television screen.

He chuckled to himself, "Toy Stark, you cold hearted basta-"

"-Mr Stark", Pepper Potts stood in what remained of the doorway to Tony's bedroom; she'd changed into a pale grey trouser suit and was holding a dark green folder.

Tony sat up and raised an eyebrow in Pepper's direction, "Miss Potts?"

A smirk pulled at the corners of Pepper's mouth but she remained professional, "The minister of defence wants you to sign over the other suit to the military, permanently".

Tony sighed dramatically and patted the bed beside him, "Sit".

Pepper shifted on her feet but stood firm, "I really think-"

"Pep, please sit".

Pepper sighed and sat down awkwardly on the bed beside the half naked Mr Stark, her cheeks flushed crimson as she brushed shoulders with him. Tony smirked,

"So…"

"So", replied Pepper.

"Is this awkward? I mean, I don't want it to be. But if you're uncomfortable…"

Pepper smiled, "No, its fine", she pressed her lips into a thin line, "I'm glad we, um, I'm glad we're-"

"Me too", Tony smiled and placed a gentle hand under Pepper's chin before he gently pressed his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and they embraced passionately. When Tony finally let her breathe, Pepper got up and flattened her hair down,

"I'll see you tomorrow".

Tony pouted, "You're not staying?" He patted his chest, "I can go all night".

Pepper smiled and waved as she headed out the door, "I'm tired, and you need some rest. I'll see you tomorrow".

Tony sighed and leaned back on the bed; he smiled up at the ceiling, completely content. That was until his chest began to burn…

**Thanks for reading!**

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**More chapter soon :)**


	2. Heart Burn

**First of all thank you for all the reviews and story alert thingies! I usually reply but there was too many so I'm just gonna say thanks now :D… please keep reviewing and let me know if you've any ideas… and most importantly, enjoy!**

**Chapter 2 – Heart Burn**

Tony sat up in bed and placed his flat palm on the chest plate on his breast; it felt as though it was heating up from the inside but the sides of the metal chamber that was holding the new element in his chest felt more like it was cooling down. Rapidly. He winced as the icy sensation started to spread through his chest towards his neck and got to his feet slowly,

"JAR-VIS", he managed to splutter before the pain in his chest became unbearable and he collapsed to the floor in a barely conscious state.

"**Yes Sir".**

Tony tried to prise the glowing element from his chest but it felt too hot to touch, he coughed as the strange cold yet hot sensation spread up his throat, "JARVIS, I need- I ne- Pepper. Get Pep-", everything went black.

Pepper Potts pushed in the code to enter the Stark residence and was greeted by a familiar buzz as JARVIS started up,

"**Good morning Miss Potts".**

"Morning JARVIS", Pepper smiled, she still found it odd to be talking to a computer.

Her heels clip-clopped on the marble floor as she made her way through the rubble; Tony still hadn't gotten around to tidying the place up. _That'll be my job today then_, thought Pepper as she scanned the living room for her what? Boss? Boyfriend? She smiled involuntarily at the very thought of Tony Stark being her boyfriend. It felt so _young, _so _innocent_. And that certainly wasn't Tony.

As Pepper hopped over a large hole in the floor she heard a low moan coming from the bedroom. Her first thought, of course, was that Tony must be with someone, a _female_ someone, after all Tony wasn't known for his polite ways and respect for women, and so she hung back a moment. But as the moans became louder she decided to chance it and take a look.

"Tony I-", Pepper stopped mid-sentence as she observed the site in front of her; Tony was lying on his back, the _thing_ in his chest seemed to be spluttering and fading, like a dying light bulb, and his face was contorted into a look of desperation and pain. He looked up as Pepper knelt down beside him,

"Pepper", he got up onto his elbows, "Ow".

The redhead's hands floated about awkwardly in the air as she tried to decipher what to do, "Tony, are you ok?" she gestured to the flickering object in his chest, "Is it supposed to be doing that?"

"No", he tried to get up but found that he was too weak, "Give me a hand here will you?"

Pepper helped him to his feet and felt his forehead; it was covered with a fine layer of sweat,

"God Tony, you're burning up!"

He waved a dismissive hand in her direction, "I'm fine, just a little-", he bent at the waist and gripped his chest but quickly pulled his hand away as it began to singe on the element keeping him alive, "I need to get this out", he tapped the blue orb.

Pepper sat him down on the bed and nodded, threading a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "O-okay, what do I have to do?"

Tony swallowed hard and made a claw shape with his hand, "You have to twist it and pull. And try not to send me into cardiac arrest this time", he tried to smirk but his face betrayed his pain.

Pepper nodded, "Okay", she started to reach for the glowing circle but Tony's hand gripped her wrist,

"Don't touch it", he warned.

"But I have to to get it out".

"It's too hot. You'll have to go down to the garage and grab some pliers".

"Right", Pepper stood up and made her way to the staircase that led down towards the basement.

"Pep?"

She turned at the sound of the nickname he hadn't used in years, "Yes?"

"Hurry".

Pepper tried to smile but it ended up a grimace and she made her way downstairs. Tony inhaled deeply and struggled to stay conscious as the hot-cold pain shot through his entire body like sparks of electricity, causing his fists to clench and his toes to curl.

Pepper reappeared a few moments later with an armful of pliers and tweezers and god-knows what else. She plonked them down on the bed beside Tony and he began to rifle through them quickly; he picked up a highlighter pen from the pile and raised a quizzical eyebrow towards Pepper,

"And what am I going to do with this?"

Pepper rolled her eyes and shrugged, "I don't know! I just picked up whatever I could find!"

Tony raised his eyebrows and picked up a pair of silver pliers with a shaking hand; he held them in front of his chest and opened them out. Before he could do anything Pepper grabbed them out of his hands.

Tony frowned, "Hey!"

"I'll do it, your hands are all slippery and you're shaking", she leaned in and hovered the pliers over his chest piece.

"I thought you never wanted to do anything like this ever again?"

Pepper's eyes widened and she smiled, "Well, yeah. But I'm not going to watch you butcher yourself either".

She slotted the pliers into the flickering element and twisted it gently. Tony yelled but Pepper continued to twist it.

"Do- do not become a doctor… ever!" Tony panted heavily as Pepper began to pull the element from it's metal casing. He winced as it slid out noiselessly and sighed as Pepper placed it on the bedside table.

She looked at the shimmering blue object with wide eyes, "That's not the palladium core is it?"

Tony shook his head, "The palladium was poisoning me".

"And this was _better_? It really didn't seem better".

Tony laughed breathlessly, "Yeah, it _was_ better. Until now".

"So you'll have to make something else to er-", she made a gesture with her hands that looked uncannily like some sort of sex position, "-slot in?"

"I can't", he touched the edges of the metal hole in his chest and looked at the now dim blue object on his bedside table, "That was my last resort".

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**More chapters soon**


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